Advani wants BJP to aim for assembly wins now

New Delhi, June 21 (IANS) Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader L.K. Advani Sunday advised the party, shaken after the Lok Sabha poll debacle, to begin preparations for the three assembly elections coming up soon. “Three states - Maharashtra, Haryana and Jharkhand - will elect their new Vidhan Sabhas soon. The BJP, along with its allies, must get set to win the people’s mandate in at least two of these three states,” he said in his concluding remarks at the party’s two-day national executive here.

“I therefore urge my colleagues, both at the centre and in these states, to begin preparations for the coming assembly elections in right earnest,” he said.

Talking about the road ahead for the party, he identified two tasks: “Increase the BJP’s own independent strength and increase the party’s coordination with our present allies in the NDA (National Democratic Allies) and other non-Congress forces.”

“I have no doubt that our Party can bounce back by addressing both tasks diligently,” he added.